Chapter 754 Uruk Sounds the Doomsday Alarm!
"Mm..."
Long eyelashes fluttered and lifted, revealing eyes that seemed painted with stars.
Like a child seeking warmth, the young girl raised her uneasy face, searching around.
"Ah, she's awake!"
"Lady Tiamat is awake!"
The infirmary immediately erupted into commotion. Someone pushed open the door and rushed out to spread the good news, disappearing down the hallway along with a certain figure.
Withdrawing her gaze, the valiant Tomoe Gozen and Anna—who had removed her cat-eared hood—sat by her bedside, holding her arms as they looked at her with concern.
"Mother, how are you feeling?"
"Are you alright?"
"Mmm~ I'm fine." Lady Tiamat shook her head, her dark hair flowing like a living painting, brushing gently against her fair, delicate skin with a soft rustling sound. Though the child she cherished most hadn't returned, having children by her side at all times was always the greatest source of happiness.
"By the way, where is... that child?"
"That child?" Tomoe Gozen tilted her head in confusion, but Anna quickly understood. Though reluctant, she answered honestly:
"She just left."
To be precise, the moment Lady Tiamat woke up, she had followed the messenger soldier out of the infirmary.
To be that tsundere—it really left one at a loss for words.
"Mmm, mmm." As if she could read minds, Lady Tiamat reached out and patted Anna's head. "You're all... good children."
"I told you not to pat my head..."
"Two members of the scout team survived and have received full treatment, returning to the frontlines," Tomoe Gozen brought up the rescued scouts. "As those bearing the weight of their sins, they cannot leave the battlefield. So, on their behalf, I wish to express our gratitude, and also..."
The female general's face flushed red, and she suddenly stammered. When Lady Tiamat looked at her curiously, she closed her eyes, abruptly left her seat, and knelt on one knee, her back straight as a rod.
"Please... stop helping us!"
Anna shuddered, clearly feeling Lady Tiamat's hand stiffen. She quickly glared at Tomoe Gozen, signaling her to stop, but with her eyes closed, Tomoe Gozen couldn't see her expression.
Admittedly, this decision was incredibly difficult to make, but it was the unanimous opinion of all the frontline commanders—not just for the long-term stability of the frontlines, but also for...
"We are deeply grateful for your care all this time, but please rest assured, even without your help, we can keep moving forward... Huh?!"
A chill ran down her spine. Tomoe Gozen opened her eyes and finally saw Anna's fearful, even horrified expression—and the silent, crystal-clear tears streaming from the white-robed girl's otherwise emotionless eyes.
"Lady Tiamat!" The female general panicked, waving her hands clumsily as she tried to explain. "I—I didn't mean it like that! I..."
The girl on the sickbed said nothing.
Silence.
An aura of annihilation rose from that hollow body, like a bubble bursting, revealing beneath the beautiful exterior—a gaze of pitch-black, as cold and indifferent as the abyss itself.
Countless crimson eyes trembled, shifting their gaze from the undulating darkness to lock onto the horrified female general.
They had been waiting for this moment—impatiently so!
Alarms suddenly blared from the healing house. Only today did Tomoe Gozen realize that this seemingly ordinary building concealed defensive and counterattack arrays on par with the royal palace!
But they weren't directed outward—they were aimed inward!
Aimed at the head of the healing house—aimed at Tiamat!
"Wake up, wake up... Tia, no—Mother!" The crisis alarm screamed in Anna's mind. Clenching her teeth, her first instinct wasn't to flee but to pull at little Tiamat, trying to take her along.
Yet Tiamat remained deaf to her pleas, lifeless as a wooden doll.
Rejected.
By humans.
The eyes that once depicted stars dimmed. The Primordial Daughter sat rigidly on the bed, allowing old scars to be torn open, pain surging like black mud to drown her consciousness.
Everything returned to that moment—watching the gods turn their backs and leave, her vision blurred by tears as she begged pathetically.
"No, don't go..."
"Wait, Mother, please... wait for me..."
But no one looked back.
In the end, her shattered sight held only her broken, gasping body, the figures of her children long gone from view.
Tears streamed down her face.
In the very end, she still hadn't broken free from fate's grasp.
Why... must I be left alone here?
So utterly alone.
In that instant, she closed her eyes. A desperate wail tore from the depths of her soul, ripping apart this futilely lingering dream.
The last remnants of kindness vanished.
Malice surged forth.
From the girl's fragile shell.
Erupting alongside her anguished cry!
The abyss roared!
At this moment, two world-ending alarms blared from the heart of Uruk!
————
Slightly earlier, North Street, Uruk.
"Tch, just exhaustion, and they're all making such a fuss."
Coldly watching the messenger depart, Gorgon glanced back at the now-distant healing house, her expression flickering briefly before she snorted and turned away, resuming her steps.
"They'll care if they want to. It's none of my business."
She wasn't about to sit weeping by a bedside—how disgustingly weak.
Yet after leaving the healing house, Gorgon couldn't help but feel lost.
What now...?
Leaving Uruk was her first thought.
But where would she go? She couldn't breach the gates of the underworld, and Baal Lakhmu likely saw her as an enemy now.
Would she just wander the outside world, hiding her name, waiting for the world to crumble on its own?
But then... how was that any different from life on the unseen island?
Given life anew, only to repeat the same mistakes?
"Damn it all..." Her ample chest heaved as Gorgon gritted her teeth, muttering low, "Only one path left, huh..."
Stay in Uruk until the situation became clear.
At least until her true form was exposed, this city would remain friendly toward her.
—Definitely not because she felt any lingering attachment. Absolutely not!
"Waaahhhh..." A child's wail pierced her ears, grating on her nerves.
"Shut up, no more noise!" Gauguin snapped almost instinctively, and the little girl, as if frightened, abruptly stopped crying. Her eyes brimmed with two large pools of tears, looking both adorable and pitiful as she struggled between the urge to cry and the fear of doing so.
She timidly glanced at Gauguin, who was momentarily taken aback, inexplicably calming down.
No, I can't do this. If I plan to stay in Uruk, I must blend in as an ordinary citizen—yes, as inconspicuous as those insignificant beings.
Taking a deep breath, the purple-haired woman bent down, her voice carrying an awkward tenderness, as if reciting lines: "Hey—no, I mean, did something happen to you?"
"I... I lost my doll," the little girl whispered, blinking rapidly as tears threatened to fall again. "My dad made it for me himself..."
Humans... making such a fuss over something so trivial... Gauguin straightened up and asked indifferently, "What does it look like?"
"It looks like the King—golden hair and ruby-like eyes."
"That King... Hmph, I see."
Without any difficulty, under the observation of the divine, the doll was quickly retrieved from the rafters of the girl's home. Just as she had described, it had golden hair, red pupils, and an expression that, to Gauguin, looked as arrogant and nouveau riche as...
Though the features were accurate, when combined, they appeared twisted and comical, utterly ridiculous.
No craftsman would sell such a shoddy doll. It was as if someone had painstakingly traced a template, assembling it piece by piece. Despite its roughness and clumsiness, the love poured into it was unmistakable at a glance.
One could even be certain that this was the best a clumsy, rough-handed man could achieve...
"Pfft." Gauguin stifled a laugh and handed the adorably ugly doll to the little girl. "Here, I found it for you."
"Wow, thank you, big sister! Thank you so much!" The girl cheered as she took the doll, hugging it tightly without a care for its dirtiness, her smile as radiant as sunlight. "Big sister is so kind!"
"Calling me kind just for this?" Gauguin scoffed, turning her head to avoid the girl's earnest gaze. "It was just on the rafters..."
Her voice trailed off as she suddenly realized something.
Given the girl's height, without magic or divine power, how could the doll have ended up on the rafters in the first place?
Unless—
Snapping back to reality, she finally noticed the neighbors' gazes—some reproachful, others pitying. Despite the girl retrieving her most precious treasure, the onlookers showed little joy.
"It was us... We deceived the child's kindness and stole her most cherished possession..." After sending the girl away, the neighbors approached. The elderly leader sighed and said to Gauguin, "We were too hasty. We planned to return the doll to her when she grew older and more mature."
Why would they do such a thing? Just as Gauguin wondered, someone murmured softly:
"After all... her father was killed by the demonic beasts."
At these words, the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, the avenger who had unleashed the tide of beasts, stood frozen as if struck by lightning.